Cappadocia Ultra Trail

An Ultra-Trail World Tour event, passing through high plateaus and valleys of Cappadocia to run it from one side to the other! Explore the heart of Cappadocia by running along natural towers, fairy chimneys and high hills dominating the landscape. Passing through Ortahisar and Goreme, discover the most beautiful valleys of the Goreme National Park by running!

Salomon Cappadocia Ultra-Trail® has been added to the Ultra-Trail World Tour calendar as an official race since 2017, as other 28 Ultra-Trail World Tour races. This status helps to raise international awareness and the quality of the competitors joining the event in Cappadocia. The aim is to increase interest in Salomon Cappadocia Ultra-Trail® by guaranteeing certain standards in the organisation as stipulated and monitored by ITRA (International Trail Race Association) and offering higher points to the domestic and international runners to qualify to UTMB and Western States 100 races.

Cappadocia lies in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevsehir Province of Turkey. The relief consists of a high plateau over 1000 m in altitude that is pierced by volcanic peaks. Sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams and ignimbrite deposits that erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately 9 to 3 million years ago underlie the Cappadocia region. The rocks of Cappadocia near Goreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and chimney-like forms.

Cappadocia was known as Hatti in the late Bronze Age, and was the homeland of the Hittite power centred at Hattusa. After the fall of the Hittite Empire, Cappadocia was ruled by a sort of feudal aristocracy, dwelling in strong castles and keeping the peasants in a servile condition. It was included in the third Persian satrapy, but continued to be governed by rulers of its own. After bringing the Persian Empire to an end, Alexander the Great tried to rule the area through one of his military commanders. Around 60 BC, Cappadocia became a Roman province.

Cappadocia contains several underground cities, largely used by early Christians as hiding places before Christianity became an accepted religion. People of the villages at the heart of the region also carved out houses, churches and monasteries from the soft rocks of volcanic deposits. The region became a monastic centre in 300–1200 AD. The Goreme Open Air Museum, which is along the path of Salomon Cappadocia Ultra Trail, is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. The complex contains more than 30 carved-from-rock churches and chapels, some having superb frescoes inside, dating from the 9th century to the 11th century.

Dinler Hotel - Urgup

Located 1km from the race village in Urgup, the 5-star Dinler Hotel offers air-conditioned rooms with views of Kayakapi. The extensive grounds include 3 restaurants and a fitness centre with a sauna and Turkish bath.

The rooms and suites are all equipped with flat-screen satellite TV. They have private bathrooms, some of which contain a spa bath. Most rooms open out onto a balcony and free Wi-Fi is provided.

An extensive buffet breakfast is offered at the Urgup restaurant. The Avanos Restaurant offers fine-dining with a local wine list. There are a range of bars where guests can relax by an open fire or the pool.

Bus departure from your hotel with your guide.  The tour begins with a descent towards the centre of the earth, with a trip to the underground city of Kaymakli, one of the largest and deepest of Cappadocia’s many such settlements. From here we drive to the famous Goreme Open Air Museum to see the best examples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia. These are found in rock-cut churches with frescoes and paintings dating from as early as the 10th century. From here we stop over at Avanos, a centre of terracotta art since 2,000 BC, for a demonstration in a traditional pottery workshop.

After lunch, we visit Pasabag’s “fairy chimneys”, where the voice of the wind harmonises with the songs of the fairies. We end the tour with a visit to Sarihan Caravanserai, a very fine example of the Turkish Seljuk art, built in the early 13th century on the legendary Silk Road, for the accommodation of the traders and their camels.

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Because of its lunar landscape, Cappadocia is one of the best places on Earth for hot air ballooning.

You will be picked up from your hotel around 1 hour before the sunrise and transferred to the office for some tea/coffee. You will then be transferred to the take-off area where you can watch the preparation process. After the briefing about the flight, the flight starts.

During the flight, you will have the chance to see the amazing rock formations from a closer distance while floating over the valleys and will have a great overview of the region when you are about 3000 feet above the ground level.

Upon landing, you will celebrate the flight with champagne. After the presentation of the flight certificates, you will be transferred back to your hotel. While the flight duration is minimum 60 or 90 minutes, the whole process takes around 2,5 - 3 hours.

You can choose any day during your stay to do the hot air balloon ride. Generally guests do it on the same day as the bus tour.

*You will be informed 1 day before the flight with the exact pick-up time from your hotel for the balloon ride.

Day 1 - Wednesday 16th October 2024 - Arrival in Cappadocia

You will be welcomed at Kayseri or Nevsehir Cappadocia Airport before being transferred to your hotel. We suggest of arrive before 6pm in order settle in early enough for optional tour the following day.

Succeeding hotel check-in, you have the rest of the day at leisure.

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Day 2 - Thursday 17th October 2024 - Guided Cappadocia Tour (Optional)

Bus departure from your hotel with your guide.  The tour begins with a descent towards the centre of the earth, with a trip to the underground city of Kaymakli, one of the largest and deepest of Cappadocia’s many such settlements. From here we drive to the famous Goreme Open Air Museum to see the best examples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia. These are found in rock-cut churches with frescoes and paintings dating from as early as the 10th century. From here we stop over at Avanos, a centre of terracotta art since 2,000 BC, for a demonstration in a traditional pottery workshop.

After lunch, we visit Pasabag’s “fairy chimneys”, where the voice of the wind harmonises with the songs of the fairies. We end the tour with a visit to Sarihan Caravanserai, a very fine example of the Turkish Seljuk art, built in the early 13th century on the legendary Silk Road, for the accommodation of the traders and their camels.

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Day 3 - Friday 18th October 2024- Race Registration

Today we collect race numbers and enjoy the festivities at the race village.

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Day 4 - Saturday 19th October 2024 - Cappadocia Ultra Trail

After an early breakfast at the hotel, we make our way to the start of the race. Good luck and ENJOY!

After completing the race, facilities available at the race village are a finishers buffet, physio service and showers.

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Day 5 - Sunday 20th October 2024 - Optional Hot Air Balloon Ride / Departure

Optional Hot Air Balloon ride for sunrise.

Hotel check-out and transfer to airport.

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OPTIONAL TOURS

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RACE ENTRY FEES

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EXTRA NIGHT FEES

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PACKAGE INCLUDES:

• Hotel Accommodation in Urgup, Cappadocia for 4 nights
• Airport Transfers
• Breakfast & Dinner (Dinler Hotel)
• Tour coordinator to ensure your trip runs smoothly
• Tourist Tax

PACKAGE EXCLUDES

• Race Fees (Available to purchase during booking, see race fees above)
• Flights
• Visas
• Travel Insurance
• Hot Air Balloon ride (Available to book at check out)
• Guided Bus Tour (Available to book at check out)
• Anything not mentioned in the included

We provide all clients with a Mobile Travel App which can be installed from both the Apple and Android app store.

The application includes offline maps which assists you in locating tourist attractions as well as the nearest restaurant, coffee shop,  shopping mall, etc.

The app also includes the following features:

• Details of your tour’s day to day itinerary
• Booking tickets for various tourist attractions
• Flight updates including live flight amendments and the ability to check in to your flight via the app
• Accommodation details
• A file store where important documents relating to your tour are loaded for you
• Direct messaging with the Disfruta Sports Tours team